Pluto in Capricorn

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period…..”

The optimism, hope, and expectation of the New Moon in Sagittarius on December 5 combines with a strong planetary emphasis in Capricorn to make this holiday season even more complex than usual.

The beginning of the month starts out with a bang as Uranus, planet of revolutionary change, goes direct to finish out its time in Pisces on the day of the New Moon. This is the end of a major cycle (see Not Yet Crossing), and most of us are weary of the old and chomping at the bit to be released from whatever version of suffering we have been experiencing. We are excited about all kinds of possibilities.

We would like to believe (oh, how we want to believe!) that better times are around the corner and we are itching to welcome them in. All of our dreams and hopes are on the line here, and energy is available for us to aim high and reach for the stars. Take a risk. Spread your wings. Direct your energy with laser-like precision to reach your target. Release the arrow from its quiver and enjoy watching it fly directly to your target. Don’t be afraid to send a message in a bottle. You never know who might pick it up.

But what about those nagging fears? What if it’s all pie in the sky?

Fortunately, during this long transit of Pluto in Capricorn, we have learned that magical thinking is delusional. Idealism and strong belief needs to be backed up by pragmatic action, and Mercury’s conjunction with Pluto on the same day provides us with the depth we need to ground our vision.

With Mars energizing this same pattern on 12/13, these planets are screaming loud and clear, “Show me the money!” This is also a critical day for travel so be careful as you move through your day. Particularly if your ascendant or your sun sign is in the early degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn.

Mercury goes retrograde on 12/10. Use your time well before then to plant your seeds, back up your hard drive, make sure your car’s in tip-top shape, and check the details and paperwork for your travel plans. If you find yourself in a jam despite all your efforts, realize that it’s just the universe asking you to slow down. There’s a good chance that things might not go smoothly since Mercury backs up into Sagittarius on 12/18 and can’t be bothered with all the small details.

All of this is the prelude to the main event on 12/21 — the Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse in the last degree of Sagittarius/Gemini immediately followed by the entrance of the Sun into Capricorn. A lunar eclipse is by definition, a time when the moon’s light is blocked and some major cycle is over. The Moon represents the feeling sense, intuition, our emotional disposition, and sense of security and stability. During an eclipse, we are called on to trust the state of being in the dark. If your Ascendant or Sun sign is in the last degrees of Pisces, Gemini, Virgo, or Sagittarius, or the early degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn, reflect on the past 19 years and be willing to let go of whatever no longer works in your understanding of your life path. Pay close attention to your body’s needs for rest, nourishment, and downtime. Make a point of eating more root vegetables and nourishing broths and getting as much sleep as you need.Taoists believe that the solstice and equinox points are energetic gateways to heaven. Times of transition like sunrise, sunset, noon, and midnight, they signify different moments in the transformation of “chi”. Approximately three days before and 3 days after the winter solstice is the time of maximum Yin energy. A womb-like experience, it signifies a time of gestation before birth where you have a very strong energetic connection to the forces of nature, particularly the earth force. Don’t be afraid to go to this dark, extreme Yin state. The seed of yang is there. Make like a bear in winter. Stay quiet and soft, and when you’re ready to be roused, go toward the light, toward love and happiness.

The name of the game right now is Capricorn. Wherever Capricorn is located in the birth chart is the place where it is essential to grow up and face the music. Because this month during Scorpio time, everything that happens takes place against the backdrop of Pluto’s (Scorpio’s ruler) conjunction with the Moon’s North Node there. This is an evolutionary direction that EVERYONE is experiencing and with Pluto conjunct this point on November 9, we can’t ignore the pressure to metaphysically grow up and let go of obsessive hunger about satisfying our primal needs for security. This is true for individuals as well as for society.

Right now, infantile behavior is tempting but passé. Wanting to be taken care of, hiding under the covers, sleeping in, being emotionally overwhelmed, or wallowing in regret, self-pity, and nostalgia for the past is not the way out of a dilemma. Neither is a quart of ice cream or a plate of mashed potatoes or anything else creamy and fattening. I know it’s tempting but this is not the current direction of the evolutionary process.

Pluto’s strong activation of the Capricorn/Cancer nodal axis focuses on the tools of the elite and powerful. It brings the force of transformation to the global financial system, the government, and the corporate-controlled media. You can’t expect to be taken care of in this environment where the rich and powerful are busy consolidating their positions in their ruthless, one-sided vision of the New World Order. Nor is it the optimum time to use your television or computer as your personal babysitting device. There’s too much at risk.

To protect the environment and the food supply, we have to get off the couch and become activists to insure our beautiful planet’s survival. This will be clearer when Jupiter and Uranus move into Aries in early 2011.

On a personal level, it’s more important than ever to cultivate and move from your center. Get in touch with your skeletal structure. Connect with your core. Let some kind of spiritual practice support you. Manage your life. Get practical about your life’s mission and follow your goals with laser-like concentration .

What’s stopping you from taking the first steps to climb your personal mountain? Confronting fear and transforming it can regenerate your energy and contribute to the healing of the planet and its current disorder. Capricorn understands that obstacles might arise. Meet them with the virtues of patience, endurance, intention, methodology, management, and strategy that Capricorn is best known for.

Cardinal Signs and Ascendants (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) will be most strongly affected but everyone will experience this to some degree. Reread the advice given below concerning last year’s Capricorn solar eclipse and see how it applies to you now. If you know your rising sign, read it also…

Aries – You’re the only one that can get serious about your career, your family, notwithstanding. If not now, when? Taurus – What’s it all about? Do some traveling either literally or in your armchair and get a bigger perspective. Or if you’ve always wanted to get that Masters degree, what’s stopping you? Gemini – It’s about the cosmic glue. Whether it’s sex, drugs, or the proverbial rock and roll, what is it that bonds you with others? And perhaps more important, how can you experience more of it? Cancer – As difficult as others can be, it’s becoming clear to you that you can’t do it alone. You need that irritation that allows an oyster to create a pearl. Others provide a mirror as well as that special ingredient that makes alchemy happen; Leo – Keep a good mental attitude while continuing to roll that rock up the hill at work. Neglecting your health is not an option; Virgo – Your children need to know that you’re the one who’s the parent. And if you have a screenplay or (something else) gathering dust in the closet, pull it out and get to work; Libra – Literally or figuratively, it’s time to build a new home. Because it’s all about your family and your base of operation, not climbing the career ladder; Scorpio – Your siblings, relatives, neighbors and cousins need to hear from you. In fact, everyone needs to hear from you these days. Write, speak, broadcast. It’s all about communication; Sagittarius – Take a cold, hard look at your bank account. Learn about money by making more of it and spending it on things you value while saving some for a rainy day; Capricorn – You are not the Biggest Loser, but you can be the Biggest Winner if you keep up your discipline. This is the time of your life. Don’t sleep through it; Aquarius –Try to forget about work at least for 15 minutes a day by spending time by yourself for a change without the company of your computer or television. Meditate and contemplate your divine place in this amazing world; Pisces –Take care of your friendships first. You achieve more fulfillment by making a firmer commitment to your dreams and goals by connecting with others around a common purpose.

November’s Important Dates (EST) :

11/6 – New Moon in Scorpio

11/7 – Neptune Direct 25 Aquarius; Venus backs up into Libra

11/9 – Pluto conjunct Moon’s North Node in Capricorn (3°) kicked off by the Moon herself!

On October 29, 2009, Saturn moved into Libra ending 2 and half years in Virgo, the sign of work and health. It will remain there through October 5, 2012 with the exception of a short retrograde into Virgo from April 7, 2010 through July 21, 2010. It’s a whole new ballgame for everyone with relationships moving front and center. This is a potentially difficult transit since Saturn is also squaring Pluto in Capricorn on November 15, 2009 and on July 26, 2010 will oppose Uranus in Aries. Whether you are firmly committed or looking for a companion, this transit will test your ability to relate to other human beings like nothing else can.

Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn is exalted in Libra. That means that Saturn acts like the honored guest at the dinner party. Very concerned with responsibilities and commitments, Saturn in Libra wants to be a peacemaker, a unifier, a reconciler but he’s always up for a fair fight if justice is a question.

I think of Saturn as the building inspector. As he transits through the zodiac and around my natal chart, he has the annoying but necessary task of finding out exactly what I have been neglecting and reminding me that it’s time to take care of it.

Compound this with Pluto’s square from Capricorn, and we’re all dealing with major dilemmas and issues regarding our relationships. Libra is an air sign and operates from an idealistic place. Pluto in Capricorn is concerned with a major transformation of the social order. Imbalances in judgment trouble Saturn and lack of control sparks Pluto’s motivation to maintain power.

Saturn says, ” Sharon, you have a hole in the roof here and the rain has been coming in for God knows how long. What are you going to do about it?” I groan, I want to bury myself under the covers, but can’t because I’ll get drenched if I don’t start working on it right now. Yesterday would have been even better but whatever…the task always seems endless and the results are never immediate.

Pluto in Capricorn can be like a steamroller. It’s all about the evolution of the social order come hell or high water and some people seem to have experienced both. Capricorn has to do with who’s in power, the mastery of the material plane, as well as our material resources. We feel Pluto’s workings on our current economic situation, necessitating a major change in values in order to make our world sustainable on the most basic level.

Like an army of termites eating away at the foundation of whatever house it’s transiting, we live with our problems until Pluto creates a crisis. All of a sudden, we feel the floor crumbling beneath us. How did that happen? You pick up the pieces and like Humpty Dumpty, hope that you can put it back together again. Or even better, you make a major move. The universe has done for you what you were unable to do for yourself.

So wherever Saturn is transiting in your horoscope right now, the roof is leaking and wherever Pluto is, it feels like you’ve fallen into a hole. Sounds like fun, huh?

Coming to all cardinal sign natives born the 21 – 28 of March, June, September, or December, but the truth is, all of us are affected. Look at your sun sign and ascendant if you know it.

Aries – Your partner’s needs conflict with your career goals; Taurus – Daily work life and health get in the way of your desire to expand into the bigger world; Gemini – Is it possible to have both love and sex in the same experience? Cancer – Wanting (or having!) a live-in partner and domestic life and maintaining the peace without giving up your integrity; Leo – Keeping a good mental attitude while dealing with pressure at work; Virgo – Having enough money to pursue your creative goals; Libra – Taking yourself seriously while struggling with your emotions and the family dynamic; Scorpio – Letting go of guilt over past actions while clarifying your communication with siblings (and other relatives) and neighbors; Sagittarius – Formulating a new goal for your future while pursuing money right now; Capricorn – What else? It’s all about your career; Aquarius – Contemplating the right thing to do without sabotaging yourself ; Pisces – Wondering…is it a sexual relationship I need or a good friendship?

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